“Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?” 1 Samuel 25:10-11 NLT
When I observe human behaviour in terms of general care, welfare, fulfilment and happiness, there’s often a tendency to be more inward-looking or self-focused. I also note that when we constantly look inwards, we tend to be less satisfied with who we are and with what we have.
An inward-looking mindset often craves for more. This is when we suddenly realise, we need to replace perfectly good working items with new ones. For example, seeing the TV as too small and needs replacing with a 65’ one. Or decide we need new pairs of shoes even though we have many in very good condition and choose to keep them instead of giving them away. Or we choose to upgrade a perfectly good working phone, the list can go on.
When we focus on me, I and myself, we tend to or choose not to notice the needs of other people. And when we do notice, we find excuses why we are unable to help or assist them. Inward-looking people covet, hoard and can be quite selfish, always looking to acquire more.
“You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is good for you. You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.” 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NLT)
There is a call to eschew selfishness and not let our care and need be absorbed by our own concerns, or that of our family. “Don’t be selfish; …Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)
Thinking about the interest of others or showing kindness to others does not mean that we disregard our own welfare or happiness. It does not mean that we should neglect our duty to ourselves or our families just to improve the welfare of others.
As Christ’s disciples, we should not be known by our doctrinal distinctiveness, denominational affiliation, charismatic preaching or by the edifice we build. We should be known by the deeds of love and kindness we show and perform towards the body of Christ and other people.
The love and kindness we show towards others should not be based on what we can get back. Too often we love and show kindness to people because we know we can expect to get something back from them.
We need to understand that there’s nothing that we have, that we have not been given. Nothing we can give that has not first been given to us. In fact, what do we have that is not already God’s?
Let us make a commitment today to show love and an act of kindness to someone. Let’s remember that without Christ, we can do nothing, but we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 